Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League encounter, thanks to a fantastic innings from Jos Buttler (94 not out).

The visitors lost D’Arcy Short early, but that did not stop them from scoring as Ajinkya Rahane and Buttler put up a 95-run partnership.

However, the big breakthrough came when Hardik Pandya got the wicket of captain Rahane.

Despite Rahane’s loss, Sanju Samson played a promising innings (26).

However, Samson got out when RR needed just four runs to win. Despite Samson’s wicket, Jos Buttler sealed the match with a six the very next ball, whereas Ben Stokes, in the non-striker’s end, did not have to face a ball.

This loss means that MI will have to win both their remaining games in order to have any chance of advancing to the playoffs.

RR 104-2 from 13.1 overs

WICKET! Ajinkya Rahane departs for 37 as he finds Suryakumar Yadav at deep mid-off. Hardik Pandya is a happy man as he celebrates his wicket.

RR 99-1 from 12 overs

FIFTY! Jos Buttler has got to his sixth IPL fifty off just 35 balls, as RR march forward to the target.

RR 9-1 from 0.5 overs

WICKET! D'Arcy Short's forgettable IPL continues as he is dismissed for four by Jasprit Bumrah. Ishan Kishan takes a catch at first slip to complete the dismissal.

MI innings

Mumbai Indians struggled their way to 168-6 in their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.

The hosts got off to a strong start, with Evin Lewis (60 runs) and Suryakumar Yadav (38) putting up an 87-run stand. However, the Indian was dismissed as Jofra Archer got the breakthrough.

Rohit Sharma, too, was dismissed for a golden duck as that put MI’s hopes in tatters.

All in all, the second half of MI’s innings belonged to the RR bowlers, who removed most of the key batsmen.

However, in the end, it was Hardik Pandya (36) who took the hosts to a respectable total.

MI 132-5 from 17 overs

WICKET! Krunal Pandya's stay at the crease is short-lived as Jaydev Unadkat removes him for three runs.

MI 119-4 from 14.2 overs

WICKET! Ben Stokes gets his first wicket as he removes Ishan Kishan for 12 runs.

Hosts Mumbai Indians (MI) will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals ( RR) in the 47th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Sunday as the race for the playoff sports intensifies.

Having won just one of their first six matches this campaign, it has been a comeback of sorts for Rohit Sharma’s men who are currently fifth with 10 points.

RR’s season, though, has not gone the way they wanted.

Despite winning the same number of matches as MI, some of their players, including Ben Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane himself have failed to perform upto the expectations.

However, RR can take some inspiration from their recent consecutive wins over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

In their last meeting recently, it was RR who completed a thrilling three-wicket win against MI, who struggling with the finishing abilities.

Apart from having a home advantage, MI enjoy a good record against RR in terms of statistics. The three-time IPL champions have won 10 out of their 17 games against RR overall, with MI also having won four out of the five matches at Wankhede so far.